South Carolina brings CDC Foundation team as measles outbreak tops 900 cases

South Carolina has asked the CDC Foundation to deploy a dozen public‑health experts to support the state’s response to a rapidly growing measles outbreak, officials said, a move that underscores operational strains in the state health department as case totals approach 1,000. The specialists are being sent by the CDC Foundation, an independent nonprofit that supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are not CDC employees.

State health data posted Feb. 17 put the outbreak at 962 cases centered in Spartanburg County; later state updates circulated that raised the total to 973. The outbreak, first confirmed Oct. 2, 2025 in Upstate regions, has produced at least 20 hospital admissions in South Carolina, officials reported, though some local hospital surveys produced smaller facility counts. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System reported four measles admissions as of mid‑February in response to inquiries.

Officials said the foundation team will handle case investigations, contact tracing and other day‑to‑day outbreak functions that the state has struggled to sustain. A state official identified only as Bell said the state used “CDC crisis response funds” to hire temporary staff and described why foundation personnel were requested: “The CDC generally provides scientists and medical officers for brief deployments of a few weeks. ‘This level of expertise does not necessarily fulfill our needs for support for daily job functions,’ she said.”

Public health leaders pointed to low vaccination rates as the principal driver of transmission. State briefing materials noted that the CDC found 97% of people who got measles in 2025 were unvaccinated, and state immunization data show 88.9% of children aged 19 to 35 months had received at least one dose of MMR in the most recent survey year. Two doses of MMR are required for school entry in South Carolina, and the department has activated a Mobile Health Unit to offer free MMR vaccinations and posted an online adult vaccine locator for residents.

The outbreak has widened the policy debate in the state. Governor Henry McMaster, who has championed personal choice on vaccines, has resisted measures that mandate vaccination. At the same time, a pending Spartanburg County bill seeks to prevent hospitals and doctors from questioning or interfering “in any manner” with a patient’s right to refuse treatments or vaccines, contending that federal agencies and others “orchestrate[d] a coordinated and coercive propaganda campaign” to shame people who declined COVID‑19 vaccines.

Epidemiologists warn that pockets of underimmunized communities will sustain transmission and change measles’ local epidemiology. “As vaccine rates decrease, it could also really help us understand the changing epidemiology of measles in this current context,” said Gabriel Benavidez, an epidemiology professor at Baylor University.

Former federal agency officials note the CDC Foundation typically bolsters CDC response efforts but does not usually replace CDC staff. The state’s reliance on foundation personnel and temporary hires funded with crisis response dollars highlights gaps in surge capacity for prolonged operational work such as daily case investigations and contact management.

State health officials said they remain focused on expanding vaccination access and outreach to vulnerable populations while continuing active investigations. The coming days will test whether the additional foundation staff can stabilize daily operations and accelerate vaccinations enough to break chains of transmission in Spartanburg and surrounding communities.